A comparative study on the performance of rooftop grid-connected photovoltaic systems under tropical monsoon climate in Vietnam

Vietnam has an area stretching over the northern hemisphere, with a distinctly different climate from north to south, and has great potential for solar power development. The first part of this paper introduced and evaluated the potential and current status of rooftop solar power in Vietnam under the available policy support by the government. In the next part, the paper uses a case study method and an operational analysis of rooftop grid-connected photovoltaic (GCPV) systems in two tropical monsoon regions of Vietnam to influence evaluation of climate in each region on the performance of rooftop GCPV systems. The research results have shown that annual average daily final yield of 3.09 kWh/kWp/day in the central tropical monsoon region (Hue city) is lower than final yield of 3.66 kWh/kWp/day in the southern tropical monsoon region (Nhon Trach district). However, in the dry season, the final yield of 3.95 kWh/kWp/day in the central region has surpassed final yield in the southern region. For tropical monsoon region in Vietnam, the average performance ratio of rooftop GCPV systems in the southern at 75.85% gives better results than in the central at 69.89%. The results have shown that Vietnam has great solar power potential. Under the influence of the policy, rooftop GCPV projects have developed very quickly. Research results provide valuable comments for researchers as well as policy managers on solar power development in Vietnam.